“We are facing the worst drought Venezuela has had in almost 100 years,” said Hugo Chávez, the late Venezuelan President in 2010. The drought problems have not improved, and as the country faces issues from an incredibly dry season, officials on May 6 have implemented water rationing in the capital Caracas and nearby regions. This will leave some six million people without water three days a week.
Venezuela’s dry season has, moreover, extended longer than normal, adding to the drought the country has been facing. There are three water reservoirs surrounding the capital city, and one of them has already reached record lows, falling below minimum capacity. The rationing plan is set to last for four months, lasting until August or September.
Critics are blaming the current president Nicolás Maduro and the socialist government for the severity of the problem though, rather than the weather.
“Instead of waiting for storage ponds to dry, the government should have implemented a less burdensome, water-saving plan months ago,” said Carlos Ocariz, mayor of the capital’s Sucre district. He went on to say that no new reservoirs had been built during the last 15 years, possibly leading to the severity of the problem today.
Other reservoirs, though, still contain enough water for the moment. The Camatagua reservoir can continue providing water for 820 more days, according to the country’s environment minister, Miguel Rodríguez. But even when fully operating, the water supply in the capital is below international standards, only providing enough water for household use and not enough to meet commercial and industrial needs.
The drought has caused other problems for Venezuela. Hydropower provides up to two-thirds of the produced electricity, and with the lack of rainfall, power shortages are a constant worry for citizens in rural areas. According to critics, management and underinvestment are also to blame for the shortages.
Neighboring country Colombia is also suffering from the drought, prompting the country to reduce gas exports to Venezuela. This is to ensure that Colombia has enough fuel to run its own power plants, putting further pressure and reliance onto Venezuelan hydropower.
Furthermore, protests occurring in Venezuela have been occurring for more than two months, fueled by resource shortages, crime and inflation. With a lack of constant access to water and related services, the protests could continue to get worse. Already, the unrest has seen 41 deaths as well as over 700 injured.
As the El Nino weather continues in the region, the country faces a water shortage that could cause many problems across the board for Venezuela. The choice by the government to start rationing the water should help ensure a continued supply for the citizens for now, however. With any luck, and with officials hoping the rationing program will only be needed until August, Venezuelans won’t have to suffer long until the rainy season returns to abate the country’s water shortage.
– Matthew Erickson
Sources: ABC News, BN Americas, New York Times: Venezuela looks to Wind and Nuclear Power, New York Times: Electricity Emergency, Raw Story, Reuters
Photo: Construction Week Online
Water Rationing in Venezuela Begins
“We are facing the worst drought Venezuela has had in almost 100 years,” said Hugo Chávez, the late Venezuelan President in 2010. The drought problems have not improved, and as the country faces issues from an incredibly dry season, officials on May 6 have implemented water rationing in the capital Caracas and nearby regions. This will leave some six million people without water three days a week.
Venezuela’s dry season has, moreover, extended longer than normal, adding to the drought the country has been facing. There are three water reservoirs surrounding the capital city, and one of them has already reached record lows, falling below minimum capacity. The rationing plan is set to last for four months, lasting until August or September.
Critics are blaming the current president Nicolás Maduro and the socialist government for the severity of the problem though, rather than the weather.
“Instead of waiting for storage ponds to dry, the government should have implemented a less burdensome, water-saving plan months ago,” said Carlos Ocariz, mayor of the capital’s Sucre district. He went on to say that no new reservoirs had been built during the last 15 years, possibly leading to the severity of the problem today.
Other reservoirs, though, still contain enough water for the moment. The Camatagua reservoir can continue providing water for 820 more days, according to the country’s environment minister, Miguel Rodríguez. But even when fully operating, the water supply in the capital is below international standards, only providing enough water for household use and not enough to meet commercial and industrial needs.
The drought has caused other problems for Venezuela. Hydropower provides up to two-thirds of the produced electricity, and with the lack of rainfall, power shortages are a constant worry for citizens in rural areas. According to critics, management and underinvestment are also to blame for the shortages.
Neighboring country Colombia is also suffering from the drought, prompting the country to reduce gas exports to Venezuela. This is to ensure that Colombia has enough fuel to run its own power plants, putting further pressure and reliance onto Venezuelan hydropower.
Furthermore, protests occurring in Venezuela have been occurring for more than two months, fueled by resource shortages, crime and inflation. With a lack of constant access to water and related services, the protests could continue to get worse. Already, the unrest has seen 41 deaths as well as over 700 injured.
As the El Nino weather continues in the region, the country faces a water shortage that could cause many problems across the board for Venezuela. The choice by the government to start rationing the water should help ensure a continued supply for the citizens for now, however. With any luck, and with officials hoping the rationing program will only be needed until August, Venezuelans won’t have to suffer long until the rainy season returns to abate the country’s water shortage.
– Matthew Erickson
Sources: ABC News, BN Americas, New York Times: Venezuela looks to Wind and Nuclear Power, New York Times: Electricity Emergency, Raw Story, Reuters
Photo: Construction Week Online
Why Promoting Education in Maldives is Crucial
Maldives has made significant strides in creating a robust and effective education system for its young students. In 1978, the government of Maldives created a unified state education system. As a direct result, the literacy rate of the nation has increased from 70 percent in 1978 to 98 percent today. Additionally, the literacy rate is now even for men and women while primary education is universal throughout the nation.
However, there are unique challenges in further improving access to education in Maldives. One of the toughest challenges is a matter of geography. There are 192 inhabited islands in Maldives, many of which are isolated and difficult to travel to and from. While secondary and special education is particularly strong in the capital city of Male, 70 percent of students live on islands far away from Male, so access to these institutions is difficult. Furthermore, two-thirds of teachers on these islands are untrained and do not have proper facilities or resources to hold classes. And recruiting teachers from other islands or teachers from abroad is tough.
While Male has flourished as a contemporary cultural center, there is a distinct disconnect between the city and the rural areas of the country. Students from islands deemed too small to even host a secondary school must make costly and time-consuming travel arrangements to schools in larger areas. This leads to families hesitating to send their children off to school. It also creates a gender gap in secondary schooling.
Only 65 percent of the population attends secondary school and only seven percent attend a university. The result is a workforce that is not qualified for an industrial and technological job market that can further improve and diversify the economy of Maldives. And with 35 percent of its population under the age of 18, Maldives will face a significant amount of young people entering the job market as under-qualified.
To combat these issues, organizations such as UNICEF and Microsoft are partnering with the government of Maldives to create innovative solutions. UNICEF is in the process of creating 20 “Teacher Resource Centers,” which will give rural teachers Internet and satellite access to online databases and curriculum. Microsoft is launching the “Coding Your Way to Opportunity” grant program to encourage youth in Maldives to participate in computer programming. These programs are crucial steps in helping Maldives continue to develop a sustainable education system.
– Taylor Diamond
Sources: UNICEF, World Bank, UN Development Program
Photo: EDC Online
Just a Drop: Creating Access to Clean Water
Imagine getting up every morning and walking miles just to get a drink of water. And what if that water, the only source of potable water in the area, was full of infectious bacteria? That is the struggle that Gertrude Namakon faced in Uganda, as do many others the world over. Every 20 seconds, a child dies from a water-related disease, something developed countries with steady access to drinking fountains and faucets do not have to deal with.
However, organizations like Just a Drop are working to fix this. Founded in 1998 by Fiona Jeffery, Just a Drop has a simple goal of providing clean water to people who need it. The international aid charity focuses on funding individual projects around the world to help address water needs worldwide.
Improving access to water is important for a multitude of reasons, such as helping relieve poverty, female equality and education as well as saving the lives of children. Nearly 780 million people like Gertrude do not have access to clean water, and many must travel a significant distance every day to bring that unsafe water back to their homes for cooking, cleaning and sanitation purposes. In rural India, up to 22% of a woman’s day is retrieving water, taking time away from education and time away from making money through business or trade.
Just a Drop wants this to change. “Our main mission is to convey the message that just 1 pound or $2 can give one child clean water for nearly ten years; therefore if each of us gives a little then collectively we can make a huge difference,” says Fiona Jeffery. By raising funds from donations from individuals and businesses, they are able to fund projects to go to these rural areas. The projects are community based, building up both the structures like wells and fountains for the water, and also the maintenance and management structures to help out in the long term.
Just a Drop has helped 31 countries by funding over 130 projects worldwide. These projects in turn have helped nearly 1.5 million people, like Ugandan Gertrude Namakon. By building a well and water pump near her school, Gertrude doesn’t have to walk miles to reach drinkable water. “It will make a big difference to my life,” she says. “It will be wonderful to be able to get clean water from a well without being sick all the time.”
Jeffery says, “Life without water is an endless struggle but with it, so many things are possible.” If a child dies every 20 seconds due to unclean water, they do not get that chance. By both raising awareness about the issue, and funding the projects to fix it, Just a Drop is doing a lot to help out the too many people at risk due to unsafe, hard-to-reach sources of water all over the world.
To volunteer, or to donate, go to JustaDrop.org.
– Matthew Erickson
Sources: Just a Drop: What We Do, Just a Drop: 6 Reasons to Support Just A Drop, Oxford, Water, Travel Research Online
Photo: Red Orbit
Venezuela Raises Its Minimum Wage
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro raised the country’s minimum wage by 30 percent in May 2014. This marks the second time the standard has been raised this year, which, in total, accumulates to a 43 percent increase since the end of 2013.
These measures were implemented to help citizens overcome the country’s crippling inflation. Over the past twelve months inflation has risen by 59 percent, a staggering rate that exceeds any other country in 2014.
The new minimum wage is expected to provide the equivalent of 657 U.S. dollars a month for the citizens of Venezuela.
Aside from porous economic fundamentals, mass popular unrest may have influenced the President’s willingness to take action. Violent protests have pervaded the the country for the past two months, leaving 41 Venezuelans dead. Demonstrators are demanding greater government intervention to improve the prospects of middle class families.
The escalating situation has pressured Maduro to remain proactive. The President recently issued a statement promising that he will take the necessary steps to ensure inflation is conquered within the next year.
“If another increase is needed, the working class can rest assured that I will do it,” Maduro told laborers in the nation’s capital.
Although inflation has plagued the nation’s current financial woes, economists blame past government policies for the recent recession. Hugo Chavez’s rule oversaw decades of price controls and currency manipulation, inefficiencies that have stymied growth and facilitated an unhealthy dependence on imports.
Economists are also pessimistic about Venezuela’s future. Many see the recent minimum wage adjustments as purely reactionary responses that will further accelerate inflation and exacerbate the government deficit.
On the other side of the spectrum, the Venezuelan opposition party has criticized Maduro for not doing enough. Henrique Capriles, Maduro’s opponent in the last election, maintains that the minimum wage raise should have kept pace with inflation.
Although protesters continue to call for Maduro’s resignation, the President remains steadfast in his commitment to help Venezuelans through this difficult time as he claims, “I am a worker president committed to the class that works and struggles.”
Unfortunate for his re-election prospects, many citizens remain unconvinced.
— Sam Preston
Sources: BBC News, Bloomberg
Photo: TT News Flash
The Unwanted Women in China
Over the past few years, Chinese media has been portraying the image of an unwanted leftover woman. The term leftover woman, has been used in the media to persuade women to be less career-minded, ambitious and be more centered on matrimony. The prospect of an educated, successful women in her late 20s is made to appear more like a death sentence than a good thing.
There has been a recent backlash over the past few decades against women’s rights in China. Recent gender inequality is beginning to rear its ugly head again and perpetuating the idea that women are not focused on the traditional way, which is marriage and motherhood. Less than half of China’s women are employed and that rate continues to drop each year. The Gender Gap report stated that an average income for women is 67% of men’s income while the nation is ranked 50 out of 137 countries for equal wage. Female employment has gone down over 10% through the past 10 years, due to the gender based view of the unwanted, over-achieving women in China.
A woman facing the business marketplace in China endures discrimination based on her gender and measuring up to the beauty standards placed on women in the professional world. Some Chinese women are told from a young age not to pursue certain careers like those in the medical field, because that would make them seem undesirable to a man. The pressure increases as women finish school and grow into their mid-twenties to settle down and have a family. There is also the pressure to maintain a perfect figure instead of embracing the normalcy of aging. Women that do not fit these molds and instead gain higher education are blamed for the high numbers of unmarried men.
Leta Hong Fincher, author of “Leftover Women,” states that “the image of the left over women is everywhere and in the end it is insulting.” In her book, she explains that the Chinese government is blaming these women for the high number of single adult males. The fear is that those unmarried men will cause problems relating to the social stability in China. Moreover, problems like bride kidnapping and prostitution are increasing each year the marriage crisis continues.
The traditional view of men and women, that men are superior to women, has molded the Chinese culture today. The Chinese government passed the one child law in the 1980s and gender-based abortions have skyrocketed since 1995, when gender-confirming technology was introduced. The fact is that Chinese families prefer a son over a baby girl. This supports the overwhelming number of men under the age of thirty in China today.
China’s rapidly-changing economy is changing how women view their positions in society. Women want access to the same positions as men, and are doing so by obtaining higher degrees such as masters and PhDs. These degree programs require more time spent in school and women are not looking to marry until later in their twenties. The traditional mind-set of these women is fading and marriage is no longer the focal point. The market in China continues to be flooded with men, but the future of highly-qualified women reaching the same opportunities is changing China’s structure and providing women with more rights.
– Rachel Cannon
Sources: The Telegraph, The Economist
Photo: Ministry of Harmony
The “Solution” to Sexual Assault in Sri Lanka
Sri Lankan Women’s Affairs and Child Development Minister Tissa Karaliyadda remarked that female victims should marry the males who sexually assaulted them to reduce the amount of rape in Sri Lanka. If the victim is underage, he suggests that the marriage be postponed until the victim reaches the age of eighteen, the legal age of consent in the country.
Karaliyadda explained to local media that, “the idea is to ensure the victim gets justice. If she feels the rapist must marry her for what he did to her, then she must have that option.”
But why would a girl wish to marry the person who sexually assaulted her? Is it because girls who have sex before their marriage will find it extremely difficult to find a husband in the future? Does their society mark them as unclean and force them to atone for the sexual assault? Is marriage the only solution to rid them of their dishonor?
Sri Lanka’s President, Mahinda Rajapaksa, has a different viewpoint. He believes that underage female rape victims should not wait until age eighteen to be married. He is quoted saying “if under aged girls are statutorily raped and the sexual act was however with consent, it may be good to have legislation that allows the perpetrator to marry the victim with her consent.”
What is most unsettling about Rajapaksa’s quote is not the part about forcing attackers to marry their underage victims, but that sexual activity between a child and an adult can be consensual.
In Sri Lanka, eighteen marks the age of consent, maturity and adulthood. Eighteen-year-olds can legally drive, smoke, drink alcohol and provide consent for sexual activity. The age of consent varies across the globe from twelve in Angola to twenty-one years old in Bahrain.
Rajapaksa’s belief that sexual activity between a child and an adult can be consensual is incorrect. Not only are their brains and bodies not fully developed, most children lack the emotional maturity and awareness to make informed important decisions. This is why statutory rape laws exist. Statutory rape laws are designed to prevent adults from “exploiting the ignorance, the trust, the inexperience and the terror of children.”
Chamal Rajapaksa, current Speaker of the Parliament and also the elder brother of President Rajapaksa, believes that “nobody can make men responsible for the violence against women. Women are responsible for it.” It is exactly this kind of viewpoint that perpetuates gender inequality and sexual assault in societies where women have very little agency. Sexual assault in Sri Lanka and gender equality is not merely a women’s issue, as it affects men, women, boys and girls. Instead of focusing on finding remedies to sexual assault after it has already happened, perhaps officials should attempt to prevent sexual assault in Sri Lanka before they actually take place.
-Sarah Yan
Sources: First Post, Buzzfeed, Care 2, Sri Lanka Guardian
World Vision: Sponsor a Child
Before deciding to sponsor a child through World Vision, 23-year-old Charlotte Bleeker bought a latte everyday on her way to work, ate out three to four times a week, and had her nails done on a regular basis.
“It’s not that they’re bad things, they’re just unnecessary. I have a coffee pot at home, food in my pantry, and am fully capable of painting my own nails,” Bleeeker said.
In 2013, Bleeker attended a local Christmas concert in which representatives from an organization called World Vision were there with pictures of children from around the world who needed to be sponsored. Bleeker saw the picture that is now on her fridge of four-year-old Eva from Zambia, and could not resist becoming her sponsor. Sponsorship entailed a monthly payment of $40 to allow Eva to go to school and buy necessities.
Bleeker’s mom immediately questioned her decision, urging her to save money to pay off loans and invest in her future. “You need to be more stable financially before you start sponsoring a child,” her mom would say.
What Bleeker’s mom was unable to foresee was that sponsoring a child was the best possible decision for Bleeker in making wise financial decisions.
“All of a sudden I was questioning the things that I used to instinctively spend money on,” Bleeker stated. Eva, halfway across the globe, was teaching Bleeker to appreciate and save her money for the first time.
“My parents always stressed the importance of saving my money, but because I had never experienced a lack of money I didn’t necessarily value it,” Bleeker admitted. Now when contemplating whether or not to stop at Starbucks in the morning, Bleeker thinks of Eva and how much additional money beyond the $40 will help her and easily resists the latte.
Bleeker is also able to write letters to Eva on the World Vision website as often as she likes.
“Sometimes I won’t hear back from her for months, it’s a process for them to get the letters to her but they always do and she always replies, thanking me numerous times in every letter. I feel like I should be thanking her for opening my eyes,” Bleeker expressed.
In addition to letters from Eva, Bleeker also receives reports courtesy of World Vision describing Eva’s progress as well as development in her community. In these reports, sponsors also receive an updated photo of their sponsored child.
Along with Eva, World Vision assists 100 million people in 100 countries today. For Bleeker it was not a matter of not having enough money to sponsor Eva but rather whether or not she was willing to give certain things up. For Bleeker, it means less dining out and more cooking.
“Eva has inspired me to be a better cook!” Bleeker proclaimed. Sponsoring Eva has enriched Bleeker’s life and given her a greater sense of purpose.
Americans hear countless stories of how sponsored children progress and thrive because of organizations like World Vision, but must also acknowledge the progress and growth that occurs when we put others before ourselves.
-Heather Klosterman
Sources: World Vision
Photo: World Vision
Polio Workers Released By Abductors
After nearly three months in captivity, six polio workers of the World Health Organization (WHO) have been released by their abductors in Frontier Regional Tank (FR Tank), stated an official on Wednesday.
On the morning of February 17, the six employees departed for Peeng village, located in the northwestern region of Pakistan, to administer polio vaccination drops. Unidentified armed men abducted their convoy and held them in an undisclosed location.
According to the official, the release was largely due to a jirga, a tribal council comprised of eight local tribal elders, who succeeded in negotiating with the captors. Thus far no group has claimed responsibility for the abduction nor is it known whether a ransom was paid.
Those kidnapped included three security personnel, two doctors and their driver. A similar situation took place in February when one polio worker and three Levies personnel were kidnapped from Awaran and released one day later.
Although these hostages were released, the level of violence against polio workers remains a serious threat. It has interrupted polio vaccination operations in the past. Women have often been the target of such violence, with as many as 30 employees of Lady Health Workers, a female health organization, killed in the past two years. In late March one female polio vaccinator was kidnapped from her home and violently murdered.
Beginning in 2006 and escalating in 2011 after the assassination of Osama Bin Laden, Taliban officials residing mainly in the northern, tribal regions of Pakistan, have vilified polio vaccination teams as spies seeking to sterilize Pakistani children.
This constant struggle between militant groups and polio vaccination teams has increasingly had an effect on children, the main beneficiaries of the vaccine.
Reports of polio in Pakistan increased from six cases in 2013 to 54 in 2014, the majority of which originate from the tribal regions of the country, specifically North Waziristan, South Waziristan, the Federally Administered Tribal Areas and the densely populated Peshawar Valley.
Even more significant is the increase in polio sightings outside of the three countries in which it is still endemic—Pakistan, Nigeria and Afghanistan. So far this year, cases have been reported in Equatorial Guinea, Iraq, Cameroon, Syria and Ethiopia.
If trends continue, the WHO warns that untreated polio may result in 200,000 new cases every year.
– Emily Bajet
Sources: The Guardian, Central Asia Online, The News, The News, Tribune, Dawn, Dawn
Photo: Headline Asia
The Post-2015 Development Agenda
In a recent address, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and General Assembly President John Ashe stated that a framework of accountability is essential in the development of post-2015 goals and their success. President Ashe expressed that such a mechanism “must be inclusive, transparent and based on mutual respect; it must promote mutual learning; it will need to contain feedback and/or inputs from the national to the regional and global levels; and it must fully utilize the new potential of data and technology.”
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also recognized the possibility of failure if a system of accountability is not put into place, or if it is not implemented properly. “Any framework for accountability must apply to all, taking into account their different capacities and responsibilities. Accountability mechanisms and platforms should be nimble and decentralized.”
Established by the UN in 2000, the Millennium Development Goals were an attempt to increase development and meet the needs of a global community. The goals include:
1. Eradicating extreme poverty and hunger
2. Attaining universal primary education
3. Promoting gender equality
4. Reducing child mortality
5. Improving maternal health
6. Combating diseases such as HIV/AIDS and malaria
7. Ensuring environmental sustainability
8. Establishing a global partnership for development
The target date for the completion of these goals was set for 2015, and with less than two years left until the deadline, the UN and other global partners have begun discussing a post-2015 development agenda.
The Secretary General also stated in a report that four fundamentals must form the foundation of the post-2015 agenda: a far-reaching vision of the future firmly anchored in human rights and universally accepted values and principles, a set of concise goals and targets aimed at realizing the priorities of the agenda, a global partnership for development to mobilize means of implementation and a participatory monitoring framework for tracking progress and mutual accountability mechanisms for all stakeholders.
UNESCO released a document summarizing their own concerns of the future of the Education for All (EFA) goals after 2015. Their stated “thematic priorities” include:
1. Establishing early childhood care and education as the foundation of learning
2. Enhancing youth and adult literacy
3. Recognizing the central role of teachers for delivering quality education
4. Increasing emphasis on skills for life and for work
5. Strengthening of education for sustainable development and global citizenship
In their statement on the operationalization of a post-2015 agenda, UNESCO also recognized the need for an accountability framework that is flexible enough to account for different educational priorities across countries and adapt to changing global situations.
As development of the agenda has progressed, it has become clear that the intention is not to abandon the Millennium goals in favor of more easily attainable markers, but to continue their pursuit through more effective means.
– Kristen Bezner
Sources: UNESCO, UN General Assembly Report, UN News Centre
Photo: UN News Centre
Women’s Rights in Kenya
While women in Kenya take care of the majority of the agricultural and produce market work, they only earn a fraction of the income their male counterparts do. As an outcome of wage discrimination for women, 40 percent of households in Kenya that are run solely by women are in poverty.
Women’s reliance on men has greatly increased within the past few years, due to state and resource conflicts during wartime. For instance, even though Kenya suffers droughts throughout the year, women are afraid to travel to collect water for their families due to gender-based violence. As a result, young girls cannot gain an adequate education due to the deficiency of proper hygiene and clean water within the school, resulting in low literacy rates. In addition, pregnant adult females who do not have access to clean water are more likely to acquire a water-borne disease, harming both the mother and unborn child.
Women in Kenya are not only restricted in the private realm, but also face restrictions in the public realm. For example, women cannot gain any property or land regardless of their social rank. In fact, after their husband’s death, several widows lost their homes and families because of these harsh gender-based rules. If a woman tries to acquire any property or land for her family, she will be exiled from the household, or even worse, from the community.
Kenyan cultural practices also influence the threat of HIV and AIDS that plague the country. Further, in addition to the medical threats of this disease, it also lowers women’s self-esteem. Forced sex and inheritance of a widow by male relatives is part of Kenyan culture, yet 1 in 5 adults have HIV, a rate even higher for women.
Besides the negative effects of some cultural practices, women also have a higher rate of experiencing gender inequality, discrimination, gender-based violence and rape. In particular, practices such as gang rapes or forced sexual mutilations continue to be a major issue in communities across the country. Unfortunately, even when these women file rape complaints, police often do not prosecute their perpetrators. Thus, there is no support for victims and survivors of violence.
While there have been reforms to the Kenyan constitution within the past year, such as more rights for female business owners to help grow the economy, they constantly fight to keep their business afloat to support their families. The laws may vary, yet the traditional codes are nevertheless in effect within some communities and villages.
Kenya needs to improve its legal assistance and medical care for women, while ensuring all women receive the highest degree of protection and representation. In addition, girls must have better access to education to improve literacy rates. Even though women voters make up the bulk of the voting population in Kenya, they continue to be seriously underrepresented in politics, making it difficult to achieve these tangible goals. Overall, if women are more included in Kenya’s economy, the country can progress from severe poverty. By bringing women and young girls out of poverty and providing basic political and socio-economic rights, the country can and will grow for the better.
– Rachel Cannon
Sources: The Water Project, Foundation for Sustainable Development
Photo: Buzz Kenya